Aren't you known as a tough guy? That's it?
Jiang Lin stood up and put down the disposable cup, thinking to himself: "You are really good at talking."
But after all, he needed help, so Jiang Lin said softly, "Can you go to the hospital with me?"
Pei Xu looked him up and down and said, "You look fine. You don't look like you're overwhelmed by farm work."
"Grandpa's knee is injured and he refuses to go to the hospital. I want to get him some medicine."
Pei Xu got on the electric bike without saying anything and said handsomely: "Get on."
Night had fallen and every household was busy preparing dinner. The aroma of fried pork with peppers wafted into the air. Jiang Lin zipped up his coat; the night in the mountains was a bit chilly.
Pei Xu glanced at the rearview mirror and said, "No need to go to the hospital. I know a pharmacy that can dispense medicine."
Jiang Lin frowned, "It would be better to go to the hospital, but grandpa refused to go."
"The elderly are worried about the money and have a prejudice against hospitals. They won't go unless it's absolutely necessary."
The night wind was blowing, and their car was the only one on the quiet road.
Jiang Lin asked, "Don't you have medical insurance?"
"They have paid for rural medical insurance, but colds and flu are not covered. They don't want to go through all the trouble, so at most they go to a small clinic in Peijia Village to get a few prescriptions."
Jiang Lin clicked his tongue a few times, "How scary!"
"I can teach you a way to deal with them."
"What is the solution?"
Pei Xu raised his eyebrows slightly, looked at Jiang Lin in the rearview mirror and said, "Call me brother, and I will teach you."
Jiang Lin made a disdainful sound, "Tsk! No need for Dr. Pei's guidance."
"I'm one year older than you, so it's not a big deal to call me brother."
"How do you know how old I am?"
Pei Xu turned around and rolled her eyes at him. "I am a young person who can use a smartphone. As a star, even if you are not well-known, you still have Baidu Encyclopedia."
Jiang Lin said proudly: "How is it? Are you scared by my resume?"
Pei Xu asked curiously: "Why were you hidden?"
Jiang Lin showed helplessness: "You really are asking for trouble!"
“Curiosity drives human progress.”
Jiang Lin raised his finger and made a "no" gesture, "Curiosity kills the cat."
Jiang Lin took the initiative to ask to drive the return trip. When he got home, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Damn! The mountain road is so scary. I always feel uneasy sitting in the back, as if there is a ghost following me."
Pei Qi kept asking how much money he spent and stuffed money into Jiang Lin's pocket until Jiang Lin refused by moving out, and then Pei Qi took back the money.
The hard work continued. Jiang Lin got up early and went to the mountain to prune branches for two consecutive days. The blisters on the palms of his hands increased day by day, but his sleep quality improved a lot because his fingers were too tired to play games.
Pei Xu walked into the yard carrying a plate of dumplings fresh from the pot.
Pei Qi and Liu Chunling pulled him enthusiastically and asked with concern: "A Xu, how are you and your father now?"
Jiang Lin heard someone talking in his sleep, rubbed his eyes and lay on the bed to listen.
"The old comrade compromised and agreed to give me a year to try. If it doesn't work after a year, I will go back to Beijing to work."
Pei Qi said with relief: "It's good as long as there is no quarrel or noise. A harmonious family brings prosperity."
Pei Xu glanced at Jiang Lin's tightly closed door and got straight to the point: "Seventh Master, everyone will start harvesting sugarcane in a few days. After harvesting the sugarcane, I have some ideas to discuss with everyone. When the time comes, can you help me organize everyone to come to the village committee for a meeting?"
Pei Qi asked: "What do you think?"
Pei Xu snapped his fingers and said jokingly: "Keep it secret for now, but I can tell you secretly, it's an idea to make money!"
Jiang Lin stretched lazily and felt like his body was no longer his own. His back and waist ached and his legs cramped.
He muttered: "You don't want to go back to Beijing, but I do!"
The heavy rain was falling, falling along the eaves and washing away the chicken manure left in the yard.
Two or three students coming back from school huddled together under an umbrella, hanging their schoolbags on their chests, and walked home slowly.
The mountain scenery was shrouded in mist and rain, appearing and disappearing. Jiang Lin lay leisurely in the rocking chair, listening to the sounds of nature.
The heavy rain had just stopped and the sky suddenly brightened. The waterlogged depressions on the ground reflected the color of the clouds.
When the wind blew, the yellow-green sugarcane leaves shook off a string of water droplets. Pei Qi and Liu Chunling were sharpening knives in the yard, preparing to cut the sugarcane.
The cell phone vibrated in his pocket, a familiar number. Jiang Lin walked to the corner of an old house and pressed the answer button.
The person on the other end of the phone asked, "Jiang Lin, have you made up your mind?"
Jiang Lin said nonchalantly: "What have you thought about?"
"Go home and manage the company."
Jiang Lin kicked the pebbles on the ground and was silent for a while before speaking: "Don't be ridiculous. If I go back and interfere with your career, I'm afraid you will lose your beloved wife in middle age."
Jiang's father said impatiently, "I asked someone and it's still unknown whether your show can be successfully broadcast. Stop dreaming about your dream of becoming a star."
Jiang Lin said coldly: "If you want to play the role of a loving father, please be more dedicated, give more praise and support. Even if I, Jiang Lin, fall into the dust, I will always be the most eye-catching one."
"Jiang Lin, it's not good for you to talk too much! Without your fans, you are nothing now!" After a few harsh words, Jiang's father said slowly, "Whether you forgive me in your heart or not, I am your father and I will not harm you."
Jiang Lin's eyes were filled with anger, and he growled in a low voice: "Ever since you and that woman had an affair, my life has been hurt because of you." He punched the wall, "You have been suppressing me and questioning me all these years. You are waiting for me, Jiang Lin, to be unable to make it out there, so that I can come back and beg you to reduce your sins!"
"You don't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is!" As soon as the last word fell, Jiang's father hung up the phone.
Jiang Lin sneered. Everyone was pessimistic about him. They were all waiting to see how he would make a fool of himself and how miserable he would be, falling into the quagmire and unable to get up again.
The crowing of cocks woke Jiang Lin up. It was not yet dawn in Peijia Village, but the lights were on in every household. A simple breakfast of egg noodles warmed the winter stomach and brought some warmth. Everyone endured the cold and dressed lightly. With flashlights fixed on their heads, they began to chop sugarcane with sharp knives.
Stars twinkled on the sugarcane fields in Peijia Village, and the sound of "crunching" came one after another. The blade of the knife was tilted, and with a crisp "click", the sugarcane fell to the ground. The villagers used the knives in their hands to neatly remove the tails and leaves of the sugarcane.
Jiang Lin was bending over in the sugarcane forest, pushing aside the sugarcane leaves with one hand and chopping at the roots of the sugarcane with the other hand. His movements were clumsy and slow. If he were a sugarcane cutter, he would not earn more than 50 yuan a day.
The sugarcane leaves, as rough as sandpaper, scratched their arms, leaving a slightly red scar that was itchy and painful. The villagers did not even bother to wipe the sweat off their faces and just kept working hard.
Before Jiang Lin finished cutting one row, Pei Qi and his wife had already cut several rows. The sugarcanes were piled up in the field in a crooked manner. Liu Chunling spread the cut bamboo strips on the ground, stacked the sugarcanes skillfully, and tied them up tightly, but dark red marks were left on her palms.
Pei Qi wanted to squat down to carry the sugarcane, but was stopped by Jiang Lin.
"Grandpa, the young and strong laborers are here. Let me do the moving."
Pei Qi looked at him with a smile and said, "You are not used to carrying something so heavy, don't hurt your shoulders."
Jiang Lin suddenly became excited. He clenched his right hand into a fist and patted his biceps with his left hand. "Grandpa, did you hear the "bang bang" sound?"
Pei Qi said honestly: "I didn't hear it."
Jiang Lin tried to save his dignity: "Oh! It doesn't matter! It means my muscles are very strong! Look at mine!"
He squatted down and tried to pick up the bundles of sugar cane, but things did not go as he imagined - he easily picked up the sugar cane and put it on his shoulders, and said calmly: "Sprinkle some water."
The sugarcane juice seemed to have turned into 502 glue, firmly sticking to the embrace of Mother Earth. Jiang Lin changed his posture, lifting, pulling and pulling were of no use. His face was silently exerting force. He underestimated the Sugarcane King.
Pei Qi smiled, leaned over, opened his arms, grabbed the two sides tightly, and lifted them up with force. The bundle of sugarcane left the ground and was successfully placed on one of Jiang Lin's shoulders.
Jiang Lin hugged her with his backhand, took a deep breath of the air mixed with the sweet smell of sugarcane juice and the smell of soil, and his determined eyes were full of evil, "The time to witness a miracle has come, I am a tough guy!"
Jiang Lin gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and barely carried a bundle of sugarcane onto his shoulders.
With a heavy weight on his shoulders, Jiang Lin stumbled forward, his face flushed. He encouraged himself: "I'm a tough guy! I can do it!"
The narrow ridges made him feel like he was walking on thin ice. He looked carefully at the road under his feet, and the weight on his shoulders slowly cut into his flesh.
"Big star, come on!"
Pei Xu's voice came from behind him, and Jiang Lin immediately gathered his strength and straightened his back.
He couldn't turn back, so he pretended to be relaxed and said, "I will be the most powerful man in Pei Village from now on!"
Pei Xu, with a smile in his eyes, walked forward carrying sugarcane and deliberately patted his empty and tilted right shoulder with a glove stained with sugarcane juice. Jiang Lin was instantly shaken.
His dancing skills saved him again. Jiang Lin yelled, "Pei Xu, are you sick?"
"Aren't you known as a tough guy? Is that it?"
Jiang Lin adjusted his posture, sweat dripping into his eyes through the ends of his hair, "Get out!" Jiang Lin squeezed out two words from between his teeth.
Pei Xu smiled faintly: "How about you call me brother and I'll help you carry it?"
Jiang Lin's strength was close to the critical point. The sugarcane on his shoulder seemed to have teeth biting his shoulder and it hurt. He didn't care about the camera being filmed in front of him. He showed a painful expression with gnashing teeth and frowning face. He really wanted to throw it away.
"Big star, are you really not going to consider calling me brother?"
Jiang Lin finally saw the big banyan tree shining with the light of hope. Driven by pressure, he quickened his pace. The moment the weight fell to the ground, Jiang Lin felt like he was reborn.
Pei Xu raised an eyebrow and looked at Jiang Lin, whose face was flushed. "Big star, what do you think of the title of Mr. Kongxu?"
Jiang Lin looked at him resentfully, "It suits you very well."
"I am a generous person, so I give you this title, Mr. Emptiness."
Jiang Lin stood up and walked back, "Pei Xu, you have been diagnosed with third-level mental illness."
Pei Xu followed closely behind him, "Mr. Kongxu, carry less next time, and don't drop it in the field."
Jiang Lin said nothing, silently rubbing his left shoulder, thinking: "If anyone dares to complain about the expensive sugarcane in front of me in the future, I will force him to carry the sugarcane until his shoulders hurt!"
The sun broke through the clouds and slowly climbed up from the east. The sunlight gathered the crystal dew on the sugarcane leaves. The villagers took off their headlamps and cut the sugarcane faster. Young children chewed a small piece of sugarcane and watched the adults working obediently.
Pei Qi's knee had not yet healed and he was slowly becoming unable to bear it. After persuasion failed, Jiang Lin moved a chair from home.
Pei Xu looked at the chair in his hand and said jokingly, "I am really a genius at naming. Mr. Kongxu lives up to his reputation."
Jiang Lin turned around and smiled falsely: "Dr. Pei, do you want to sit in our field? I have a machete to greet you."
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